1 . Ireland: The Emerald Isle

Travelling in the Republic of Ireland is like stepping into a vivid painting where lush green landscapes meet charming villages.

Dublin

Start exploring in Dublin, Ireland’s capital, which blends the old and new. The city is steeped in history, and you can enjoy its past at landmarks like Trinity College, founded in 1592. It’s home to the Book of Kells, a medieval (中世纪的) masterpiece. After that, take a walk around Dublin Castle, a symbol of Ireland’s historical power. Then head to The Temple Bar, with its cobblestone streets and lively pubs, to experience Dublin’s contemporary culture.

Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry, 1,179-kilometer circular route, showcases Ireland’s beauty. You’ll encounter green meadows, peaceful lakes and dramatic coastal cliffs. Each turn in the road reveals breathtaking views that will leave you in awe.

Cliffs of Moher

You can’t say you’ve been to Ireland if you haven’t checked out the Cliffs of Moher. These towering cliffs on the west coast rise from the Atlantic Ocean, reaching heights of over 200 meters. The sheer size of the cliffs and the roaring waves below create a fascinating and humbling experience.

Inishmore   

Take a ferry to Inishmore, one of the rugged Aran Islands. Upon your arrival, you will immediately notice the hard life of the local people. At first there was no soil on the island, so over the centuries, they made their own — from seaweed and sand. Now about 2,400 kilometers of rock walls spread around the land. Take a tour or ride a bike around the island. Then enjoy an Irish coffee before heading back to the mainland.

2 . Being bored is no fun, especially at work. But new research out of the Research School of Management at Australian National University argues that while boredom is certainly boring, it isn’t all bad. The disliked mental state can actually spark precious creativity.

The study asked 52 subjects to do a pretty boring job: sort apart a bowl of red and green beans with just one hand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, 49 other subjects — the control group — were instructed to create art projects with paper, beans and glue. Once the 30 minutes was over, each group was instructed to spend five minutes on a creative task: they had to come up with reasons why a hypothetical (假定的) person was two hours late for a meeting.

The bored group came up with not just more ideas than the control group, but more creative ideas than the control group, too. The quality and quantity of production was higher for people who were bored than those who were not. Creativity itself was measured under a standard that balanced novelty and practicality. Ideas had to fit both criteria to be considered creative.

Guiyun Park, the study’s lead author, readily admits that not every type of job permits the fun of boredom, and it can really be harmful to some important work. But for designers and anyone in a creative field, boredom is not something to fear, but to embrace. Sometimes, the best way to be productive is to expect nothing of yourself at all.

3 . Every afternoon for the past 11 years, 83-year-old AI Merritt has been a reliable and cheery presence in his southeast Carlsbad neighbourhood, California.

His wife, Penny Merritt said her husband’s doctor suggested he get more exercise after he had some heart trouble about 12 years ago. When their son, Kevin brought a bike to his parents’ house, AI started to pedal around the local road and hills. At first, his rides were about five miles long, then 10 to 12 miles, and gradually the length of his outings grew due to all the social stops — from an hour to two hours.

Since 2010, Merritt has been on a personal pursuit to cycle the circumference (周长) of the earth — 24,901 miles without even leaving his own neighbourhood. As a result, over the years, he got to know many of his neighbours and send them message of love and kindness. Judy Keene, one of his neighbours, has been waving to Merritt on his daily rides for the past five years.

“He is so reliable, like clockwork. Every day I see him flying by on his bike. He is totally cheerful and takes time with everybody,” Keene said. “He inspires so many people and shows everyone how you can be in your 80s and still have a good time.”

It was not until October 24 that the old man finally realized his daily bicycle trips were as important to them as they were to him. At 3 p.m. that Sunday afternoon, nearly 200 people gathered near his home to surprise and congratulate him on the completion of his “round-the-world” adventure. As he pedaled down the hill towards his house, a roar erupted from the crowd waving international flags, hand-painted signs and Earth-shaped balloons. The outpouring of love stunned and overwhelmed Merritt.

“It’s just unbelievable. I couldn’t have imagined anything like this ever happening,” he said. Although Merritt has now accomplished his cycling goal, he has no plans to change the routine that has become the highlight of his daily life.

5 . There is growing evidence to show that our past knowledge about Mars was not always the case. Now European researchers say they have discovered the first evidence of a huge groundwater system that once existed below the planet’s surface.

A new study was carried out by Francesco Salese and his team, who studied images of 24 deep craters (n.弹坑) in the northern half of the Red Planet. These pictures were captured by ESA’s Mars Express orbiter (n.宇宙飞船), which was launched in 2003. The study provides the first geological proof that Mars once had a “planet-wide groundwater system.”

According to Salese, scientific evidence already suggests Mars was once a watery world. His team says the images showed that large amounts of successive groundwater activity connected the areas they studied. Evidence of basins and coastlines was also found on the surface of Mars, supporting the idea that water was once present. He added that all the basins seemed to reach about the same height.

Scientists have yet to find out what happened to all that water. And the complex history of water on Mars has linked to whether or not life ever existed on it. During the latest study, researchers also discovered evidence of minerals within some of the identified (adj.被识别的) bodies of water.

The researchers say the findings adds weight to the idea that the water basins on Mars may have once held the materials required to support life. Some of this material could still be buried on Mars, providing possible evidence of life during future exploration. Francesco Salese believes the latest findings could also help us learn new things about our own planet.

6 . Music Festivals From Around the World

Music possesses a unique power to unit e people across cultures. One great way to feel this connection is by attending some of the world’s most incredible music festivals.

The Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary, is a renowned six-day celebration of music and art on Obuda Island on the Danube River. Started in 1993, the festival is known for its diverse lineup, featuring top artists from genres like electronic, hip-hop, techno, and pop rock. Beyond music, the festival offers cultural experiences like art exhibitions, theater, circus performances, and film screenings.

Glastonbury Music Festival is a global music fest held annually at the Worthy Farm in Somerset, England. Since its inception（开始）in 1970, it has become a touchstone for music enthusiasts worldwide, drawing more than 200,000 visitors during its remarkable five-day run. Additionally, Glastonbury is among the few festivals striving towards being completely carbon-neutral.

The beloved Rock in Rio festival was founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1985．The brand has since expanded to other locations, including Lisbon, Madrid, and Las Vegas. Rock in Rio spans multiple days. While its roots are in rock music, Rock in Rio has evolved to include more genres to appeal to a much broader audience. One of Rock in Rio’s standout features is its commitment to environmental initiatives.

Fuji Rock is Japan’s biggest music festival, typically held in Naeba Ski Resort in Niiga ta Prefecture. Known for its stunning mountainous backdrop, this event has been running since 1997 and is celebrated for its diverse lineup that spans rock, electronic, hip-hop, and most other genres. It attracts international and local acts, creating a unique fusion of musical styles.

7 . I had a great time with the film Turning Red, which follows Meilin, a thirteen-year-old girl who suddenly begins turning into a giant red panda.

The film was set in 2002 when I would’ve been around Meilin’s age. It was a joy for me to watch a film that I could relate to. The film illustrates the push-pull that many immigrant families face: how much of their culture to keep and how much to assimilate(融入). There are beautiful traces of Chinese culture throughout this film, including gorgeous food, time around the table, relationships with extended family, and more.

In the film, women in Meilin’s family suffer a curse(诅咒). As soon as they begin to blossom into womanhood, they transform into a giant red panda whenever they express any strong emotion. Thus, they have learned that emotional repression is the way to go. It was beautiful to watch this young girl choose the different path of emotional wellness instead of holding back her feelings.

It’s not a surprise that the director Domee Shi, who is around my age, chose this plotline. Many people my age are on that similar path Meilin finds herself on. We honor our parents and what they have done for us, but we’re also choosing to be more emotionally healthy and trying to live differently than we were taught.

The part of Turning Red I particularly loved is the ending. Though Meilin’s mom, grandma, and aunts see that it’s possible to integrate their red pandas into their lives, they don’t choose that path. Instead, they choose to bottle their pandas up once again. However, they do get a new perspective on this young, groundbreaking girl. It’s such a sweet reminder that not everyone can go on the same journey toward emotional health, and that’s okay.

If all of them had embraced their pandas, I think the ending would’ve felt incredibly cheese and taken away some of the power of the story. So we get a conclusion that is satisfying and heart-warming without being too much of a fairy tale.

8 . If you’ve scrolled through your Facebook feed recently, you may have noticed something surprising: lots and lots of short videos.

What makes this “Reels” feature strange is that it is hugely addictive, which I know quite well from my own personal experience. Last Friday, I took a break and hit on one short clip of someone making dinner and, well, the next time I looked up it was 20 minutes later and the blank document on my computer monitor was confirming to me that my work was still not done.

However, as silly as it seems, Reels-is actually super important, and is at the centre of a major battle between the world’s largest tech firms. The format (格式) was first pioneered by TikTok-the Chinese-owned video app that has taken the world by storm since it launched in 2016. Today, TikTok has around 23 million UK users every month-including basically every person you know under the age of 25. And that fact has made Facebook and its parent company, Meta, very nervous indeed. As TikTok has continued to boom, Facebook has actually fallen in popularity among “Gen Z”. The reason Tik Tok has proven such a powerful challenger to Facebook’s social media dominance is almost entirely down to these sorts of short-form videos.

The format is almost perfectly optimised to be as addictive as possible: Tik Tok’s app shows you a short-form video, and if you don’t like it, you can simply swipe it away and another one will start playing instantly. And because it is portrait, not landscape, videos look “right” when viewed on your phone. What’s also smart is that TikTok’s algorithm (算法) picks videos for you based on what you actually watch, and not what you say you want.

Facebook isn’t the only app trying to do what TikTok does so well. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, has integrated Reels even more aggressively into its app. And even Google is nervous, launching its own TikTok-style video section of YouTube(which it owns)a couple of years ago. As things stand, though TikTok currently maintains a healthy lead in the category, both YouTube and Facebook have deep pockets-so expect to see even more Reels and Shorts popping up in your feed as this intense battle continues to rage. You won’t be able to take your eyes off them.

10 . The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Buds (小满), the 8th solar term of a year, begins on May 21 this year, and ends on June 5. It means that the seeds from the grain are becoming full but are not ripe. Let’s see what we can do during the “Grain Buds” period.

Eating herb of common sow thistle

Grain Buds is a season for eating the herb of the common sow thistle, which is one of the earliest edible potherbs in China. It tastes a little bitter, but also sweet. People in Ningxia Hui autonomous region like to eat it mixed with salt, vinegar, peppers or garlic. It tastes delicious and helps people feel refreshed. Some people boil the herb with water and then squeeze out the juice, which can be used to make soup.

Key period for flower management

This time is a good period of the quick growth of flowers. It is also a season when plant diseases and pests are at an all-time high, which makes caring for your garden even more critical. Flowers need a lot of water and extra care to stay healthy. Weeding should be done as they grow quickly and have to be extirpated in order to keep the soil loose and from competing with the flowers for nutrients.

Celebrating silkworm deity birthday

Silkworm rearing is a traditional byproduct for people in regions south of the Yangtze River. People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces regard this season as the birthday of the silkworm deity. Those who engage in the silk industry thank the deity by offering sacrifices and staging performances. They pray to the deity for blessings and a boom season for the silk business.